used car imports when asean comes into effect

[banyanboy]

Will it be legal to bring used vehicles into Thailand from across the malaysian border once the asean agreement is fully implemented.? what about duty?

[Naam]

my view: nothing much will change, import duties will remain high.

[mogandave]

That is what I would guess.

Unless maybe you are immigrating from Malaysia

[jmccarty]

Don't see why they would change it. Free trade does not mean duty free trade!

You might be able to bring a Proton in with 5% tax.

[banyanboy]

What if i buy a used car in Malaysia and then simply drive it back to Thailand?Would the car need some form of entry visa?Could i re-plate it here in Thailand?

Anybody know why cars here hold their value so much.I could buy a 4 year old Audi R8 in the UK for 250,000 Baht.Here it would still be around 1.5 million.It doesn,t make sense!

[Naam]

What if i buy a used car in Malaysia and then simply drive it back to Thailand?Would the car need some form of entry visa?Could i re-plate it here in Thailand?

Anybody know why cars here hold their value so much.I could buy a 4 year old Audi R8 in the UK for 250,000 Baht.Here it would still be around 1.5 million.It doesn,t make sense!

-can not,

-yes,

-no,

-good and cheap maintenance,

-in our home countries a lot of things don't make sense.

summary: forget about it!

[jmccarty]

What if i buy a used car in Malaysia and then simply drive it back to Thailand?Would the car need some form of entry visa?Could i re-plate it here in Thailand?

Anybody know why cars here hold their value so much.I could buy a 4 year old Audi R8 in the UK for 250,000 Baht.Here it would still be around 1.5 million.It doesn,t make sense!

You can bring a car in for 3 months, then you need to take it out and can come back again for 3 months. It must be registered somewhere else and insured. Overstay or claim it was stolen and you will owe Thai customs whatever they assesed it to when you brought it in. It will be on the customs form they will give you.

Value in the UK has nothing to do with value in Thailand or any other country around here.

[IMHO]

The ASEAN FTA that's been around for years now already allows for duty free imports of brand new cars assembled in ASEAN from at least 40% ASEAN parts.

It does not have any benefits for used cars, or cars not assembled in ASEAN, or cars assembled in ASEAN but not from 40% local content.

Nothing about this will be changing in 2016.

[jmccarty]

Thought is was 5% for cars with 40% ASEAN made parts.

The new Active Hybrid 3 BMW is a steal at just over Bht 4m and works for me as a luxury performance car. It is assembled in Malaysia.

[EvilDrSomkid]

What if i buy a used car in Malaysia and then simply drive it back to Thailand?Would the car need some form of entry visa?Could i re-plate it here in Thailand?

Anybody know why cars here hold their value so much.I could buy a 4 year old Audi R8 in the UK for 250,000 Baht.Here it would still be around 1.5 million.It doesn,t make sense!

250k baht for an R8 in the UK? BS.

I think you forgot a few zeros. A 2nd hand R8 will set you back 10mil here, not 1.5mil.

[sushi5734]

Thought is was 5% for cars with 40% ASEAN made parts.

The new Active Hybrid 3 BMW is a steal at just over Bht 4m and works for me as a luxury performance car. It is assembled in Malaysia.

Its 4.2 million baht or £80,000 for a hybrid 3 series bmw and you call that a steal? You need to put down the crack pipe or you're too rich =] the luxury 320i is 2.7 million baht which itself is already a fortune. In order to make the hybrid worthwhile you'd need to save £30,000 in fuel over the life of the car.

[fred007]

What if i buy a used car in Malaysia and then simply drive it back to Thailand?Would the car need some form of entry visa?Could i re-plate it here in Thailand?

Anybody know why cars here hold their value so much.I could buy a 4 year old Audi R8 in the UK for 250,000 Baht.Here it would still be around 1.5 million.It doesn,t make sense!

Yes i sell used cars in Australia .I agree with you one percent in Australia as in most other countries every year most vehicles depreciate in value as a general rule.

When i return to Bangkok year in year out i see the same old cars sitting in the same car yards at the same price year after year ..These places have to be a front for some illegal business or how else would they survive ME THINKS

[fred007]

Thought is was 5% for cars with 40% ASEAN made parts.

The new Active Hybrid 3 BMW is a steal at just over Bht 4m and works for me as a luxury performance car. It is assembled in Malaysia.

Its 4.2 million baht or £80,000 for a hybrid 3 series bmw and you call that a steal? You need to put down the crack pipe or you're too rich =] the luxury 320i is 2.7 million baht which itself is already a fortune. In order to make the hybrid worthwhile you'd need to save £30,000 in fuel over the life of the car.

Its simple Buy Local Manufactured Shit Or Pay The Bucks ................The Thais Number One Rule Death and Taxes

[sushi5734]

If I had to get a bmw it wouldn't be a hybrid, not for that price anyway. There's paying a premium price for a better product and there's insanity. I reckon some Thais buy imported cars because they are so expensive just to brag about them.

[IMHO]

I reckon some Thais buy imported cars because they are so expensive just to brag about them.

Yeah, you Westerners would never do something like that. That's why you all drive base model March MT's right? - I mean, given the definition of "car" anything more expensive would be simply throwing away money

[steveromagnino]

Thought is was 5% for cars with 40% ASEAN made parts.

The new Active Hybrid 3 BMW is a steal at just over Bht 4m and works for me as a luxury performance car. It is assembled in Malaysia.

Its 4.2 million baht or £80,000 for a hybrid 3 series bmw and you call that a steal? You need to put down the crack pipe or you're too rich =] the luxury 320i is 2.7 million baht which itself is already a fortune. In order to make the hybrid worthwhile you'd need to save £30,000 in fuel over the life of the car.

The 320i is a pretty basic low performance car (>8sec to 100kmph); the hybrid is a sub 6sec car, and is much higher specced in terms of everything.

However, that said, I don't really trust the hybrid technology as a money saver, once you think about replacing the batteries in 8 years, then it really isn't going to stack up from fuel savings - a bit like a diesel - unless you do huge km then it is hard to make it pay itself off. Performance of the hybrid though is pretty impressive (on paper - never test drove one) and it seems to be one of the only high performance smaller size BMW available here since BMW Thailand doesn't think we are ready for the 135m; 328i at 3.099m is probably a better buy though (and not far off performance wise). For similar money as the hybrid you could get a 528i sport.

The reality is here in Thailand any nice car (read Euro/Lexus type brand) is expensive. Same as Malaysia. Same as Singapore. You pays the prices or you drive a cheaper car. Pity that the 125i and 135i aren't available here as that's a nice option for a professional couple compared to the 3 series. Instead we are stuck with the slug like 116i.

Same could be said for eating steak, drinking wine, wearing Brioni, flying overseas to go skiing, etc. You save when you eat Tom Yum Goong though, so I calculate if you eat enough Tom Yum Goong, you can actually come out ahead. I have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even bathe in it. Also has the added value of saving on perfumes (another expensive product in the LOS).

[Jasun]

Would it be possible to own 2 cars in Malaysia and alternate them every three months?

[IMHO]

Would it be possible to own 2 cars in Malaysia and alternate them every three months?

Unless both cars are going to be Porsches or Bentley's what would you be saving? Malaysia has higher taxes in the low-mid end than Thailand (Proton aside) - it's only at the top end that Thai prices start climbing above MY.

[sushi5734]

I reckon some Thais buy imported cars because they are so expensive just to brag about them.

Yeah, you Westerners would never do something like that. That's why you all drive base model March MT's right? - I mean, given the definition of "car" anything more expensive would be simply throwing away money

Touché, most people want something nice to drive, however it's pretty extreme here, status is a everything.

A lot of the parents of my students are very wealthy and they drive some very expensive cars 20-30 million baht, it's purely about showing their wealth/keeping up with the Jones. I can see the sense in buying a nice car but over £80k for a hybrid 3 series is too rich for my blood, if I had the money I'd go for a volvo x90 or x60, I do like the 3 series, I have driven the 328....I'd stretch to 3 million for that.

[QROPS]

What if i buy a used car in Malaysia and then simply drive it back to Thailand?Would the car need some form of entry visa?Could i re-plate it here in Thailand?

Anybody know why cars here hold their value so much.I could buy a 4 year old Audi R8 in the UK for 250,000 Baht.Here it would still be around 1.5 million.It doesn,t make sense!

250k baht for an R8 in the UK? BS.

I think you forgot a few zeros. A 2nd hand R8 will set you back 10mil here, not 1.5mil.

Cheapest R8 I could find in the UK is 1.7M THB

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/audi/r8/audi-r8-4-2-fsi-quattro-2dr-sold-now-looking-for-similer/1387498

[VocalNeal]

Anybody know why cars here hold their value so much.

Yes i sell used cars in Australia .I agree with you one percent in Australia as in most other countries every year most vehicles depreciate in value as a general rule.

Used cars depreciate here. What does not disappear is the amount of the import or excise duty levied on imported cars. So if one buys the said

new Active Hybrid 3 BMW is a steal at just over Bht 4m

about 2m of that is excise and import duty maybe more.(why because the guy buying the car can afford the payments on the car but doesn't pay much income tax so government gets its tax from him this way)

So the depreciation on the car only applies to the actual car so on 2m or less.

So when you see a used one for 3m the car has depreciated by 50% but the excise tax to import paid on the car was 2m and that follows the car for a while. I'm sure there are some clever percentages somewhere but...

Edit: Ignore guys who claim cars here are a bargain. They are just as out of touch with reality as the guys who claim they are too expensive.

[jmccarty]

Thought is was 5% for cars with 40% ASEAN made parts.

The new Active Hybrid 3 BMW is a steal at just over Bht 4m and works for me as a luxury performance car. It is assembled in Malaysia.

Its 4.2 million baht or £80,000 for a hybrid 3 series bmw and you call that a steal? You need to put down the crack pipe or you're too rich =] the luxury 320i is 2.7 million baht which itself is already a fortune. In order to make the hybrid worthwhile you'd need to save £30,000 in fuel over the life of the car.

The 320i is a pretty basic low performance car (>8sec to 100kmph); the hybrid is a sub 6sec car, and is much higher specced in terms of everything.

However, that said, I don't really trust the hybrid technology as a money saver, once you think about replacing the batteries in 8 years, then it really isn't going to stack up from fuel savings - a bit like a diesel - unless you do huge km then it is hard to make it pay itself off. Performance of the hybrid though is pretty impressive (on paper - never test drove one) and it seems to be one of the only high performance smaller size BMW available here since BMW Thailand doesn't think we are ready for the 135m; 328i at 3.099m is probably a better buy though (and not far off performance wise). For similar money as the hybrid you could get a 528i sport.

The reality is here in Thailand any nice car (read Euro/Lexus type brand) is expensive. Same as Malaysia. Same as Singapore. You pays the prices or you drive a cheaper car. Pity that the 125i and 135i aren't available here as that's a nice option for a professional couple compared to the 3 series. Instead we are stuck with the slug like 116i.

Same could be said for eating steak, drinking wine, wearing Brioni, flying overseas to go skiing, etc. You save when you eat Tom Yum Goong though, so I calculate if you eat enough Tom Yum Goong, you can actually come out ahead. I have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even bathe in it. Also has the added value of saving on perfumes (another expensive product in the LOS).

I don't care at all about the economy of the hybrid 3, just like the perfomance. I recently sold my E60 M5 in Singapore and though it got 11 miles to the gallon, it was my favourite car. Would have brought it here if I could have found a way.

The performance of the Hybrid 3 is not bad and I am waiting for a chip tune solution but don't see one yet and maybe will not see one becuase of the green nature of the ECU. But if the 340-350hp stock 3 series is all there is, it may be my next car.

And the price is a steal compared to what a similar new BMW would cost in Singapore so though considered high here, I have another standard and still earn the same income as I did in Singapore.

The new M5 here is about the same price as it is in Singapore, but I am not willing to pay >Bht 12m for a car here. +/- Bht 4m, sounds reasonable to me.

[IMHO]

I reckon some Thais buy imported cars because they are so expensive just to brag about them.

Yeah, you Westerners would never do something like that. That's why you all drive base model March MT's right? - I mean, given the definition of "car" anything more expensive would be simply throwing away money

Touché, most people want something nice to drive, however it's pretty extreme here, status is a everything.

A lot of the parents of my students are very wealthy and they drive some very expensive cars 20-30 million baht, it's purely about showing their wealth/keeping up with the Jones. I can see the sense in buying a nice car but over £80k for a hybrid 3 series is too rich for my blood, if I had the money I'd go for a volvo x90 or x60, I do like the 3 series, I have driven the 328....I'd stretch to 3 million for that.

It's all relative.... no-one is driving a 30M Baht car on finance with 500K Baht/mth repyments - you gotta have the cash if that's the way you want to roll

[EvilDrSomkid]

I don't care at all about the economy of the hybrid 3, just like the perfomance. I recently sold my E60 M5 in Singapore and though it got 11 miles to the gallon, it was my favourite car. Would have brought it here if I could have found a way.

The performance of the Hybrid 3 is not bad and I am waiting for a chip tune solution but don't see one yet and maybe will not see one becuase of the green nature of the ECU. But if the 340-350hp stock 3 series is all there is, it may be my next car.

And the price is a steal compared to what a similar new BMW would cost in Singapore so though considered high here, I have another standard and still earn the same income as I did in Singapore.

The new M5 here is about the same price as it is in Singapore, but I am not willing to pay >Bht 12m for a car here. +/- Bht 4m, sounds reasonable to me.

If that is what you are after, get an E60 here (approx 1.2mil) with the largest you can find TDI engine and chip tune that, get some KW suspension and 18in wheels and you will have a very nice car. Not an M5, but still fast.

[Wavefloater]

Here's my prediction for Thailand in ASEAN. Thailand will just ignore all the regulations that doesn't suit their style of doing things but try to exploit all aspects of the regulations that do.

I have no confidence that the import situation in Thailand will improve at all -- either in the areas of accessibility to goods or lower prices.

[mortenaa]

328i at 3.099m is probably a better buy though (and not far off performance wise).

Where did you find this price? As far as i have seen, BMW Thailand only has 320i and 320d

[mortenaa]

I don't care at all about the economy of the hybrid 3, just like the perfomance. I recently sold my E60 M5 in Singapore and though it got 11 miles to the gallon, it was my favourite car. Would have brought it here if I could have found a way.

The performance of the Hybrid 3 is not bad and I am waiting for a chip tune solution but don't see one yet and maybe will not see one becuase of the green nature of the ECU. But if the 340-350hp stock 3 series is all there is, it may be my next car.

And the price is a steal compared to what a similar new BMW would cost in Singapore so though considered high here, I have another standard and still earn the same income as I did in Singapore.

The new M5 here is about the same price as it is in Singapore, but I am not willing to pay >Bht 12m for a car here. +/- Bht 4m, sounds reasonable to me.

Buy a 2nd hand E90 M3. Great car